A new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) released this week said 23 states spent more than a combined $1 billion to combat winter weather from October 2014-April 2015.
The report used data from state’s Departments of Transportation and the executive director of AASHTO said the numbers were staggering.
“The 23 surveyed states spent more than a billion dollars and eight million work hours this winter season,” Executive Director Bud Wright said in the news release describing the report. “That's indicative of the amount of resources needed and the commitment and dedication displayed by state DOTs."
Steven Sapp of Columbia Public Works said the unpredictability of winter weather leaves officials just waiting it out to see what they need to do.
“Nothing’s guaranteed,” Sapp said. “It’s a little bit of a crapshoot, if you will, on the weather. So, we take them as they came and we do what we need to do and what our citizens expect us to do.”
Sapp went on to describe Columbia’s numbers in detail.
He said Columbia spent a total of $627,000 on snow and ice management last winter. Sapp said that includes $470,500 in costs for materials and equipment and roughly $157,000 in personnel costs. He added that some more minor numbers will come in before the end of the city’s fiscal year in October, which will likely result in a slight rise in the overall number.
Sapp went further into detail on the cost of materials. He said Columbia is unique because the city has a long-term contract.
“We’re fortunate in Columbia and Boone County in that we have a long-term contract, so it’s held our costs to about $64 per ton delivered over the past several years and we have another year or two remaining on that contract,” Sapp said.
MoDOT spokesperson Sally Oxenhandler says MoDOT spent around $49 million statewide this winter and $8.8 million for the Central District that includes Columbia and Jefferson City.
She says those numbers are both less than what the 2013-2014 winter cost, which is a good thing for spring and summer projects.
“Just depending on what direction we go, it means that we have to take work from other areas,” she said. “If we spend more on winter operations, we’re able to do less maintenance work in the spring and summer and fall.”